Making Tracks: A musky fishing tradition

Living in the Northwoods lends itself to some natural hobbies. Exploring the outdoors, boating on one of our many lakes, and for many of you, the thrill of musky fishing tops that list.

We have some of the best lakes around for fishing, especially musky fishing. Did you know that more world record musky have been caught in Wisconsin than anywhere else? That might be part of the reason that the musky was named Wisconsin’s state fish in 1955. And if you are hoping to earn some bragging rights for the next fish you reel in, I would encourage you to sign up for the 2012 Rhinelander Toyota Hodag Musky Challenge.

This tournament is a long standing tradition in the Rhinelander area. In fact, this will be our 31st annual tournament. This year the tournament dates are Sept. 7-9, and we are still taking registrations, so there is still time to get signed up.

One of the great things about this tournament is that it’s a great chance to have a little fun with a good buddy, or spend the day out on the water with your son or daughter. Fishing is one of those pastimes that truly lends itself to the entire family, and so many memories are made out on the water.

We also have five different lake groups involved in the tournament, so if you are more familiar with one lake over the other, you can take your pick on the group you’d like to fish. The groups include Boom Lake and the Wisconsin River, the Moen Chain, Crescent Lake and Lake Julia, Lake George and Lake Thompson and Oneida Lake and Hancock Lake. Each lake group has a different maximum number of teams allowed, so make sure you get signed up now to get the group you want to be in. Plus, if you have a secret musky spot, you can make your way there and hope the fish are biting that day!

Of course the winner will take home a nice cash prize, 67 percent of our registration fees go towards our prize payouts. We pay out for the top 10 teams, we hold an 11th place drawing for anyone who caught a fish but isn’t in the top 10. We also give out cash for the largest musky caught on each day of the tournament, and to the largest northern caught over the course of the tournament. The chances to win some money are huge! Plus, we have a great raffle selection and tons of other fun stuff that you can win. And if you are the first fisherman to catch a 50+ inch musky, you’ll walk away with a brand new boat, trailer and motor from Shoeder’s RV & Marine.

If you aren’t quite ready to fish the tournament, but would like to help us out, we are still looking for a few volunteers for the weekend. We need help registering the fish, selling raffle prizes, registering our teams and all sorts of other items. If you think you’d like to help out during the tournament. give us a call and we’ll get you signed up! We wouldn’t be able to do this tournament without our great volunteers. I also have to give a huge thank you to our sponsors, Rhinelander Toyota, Shoeder’s RV & Marine and Rollie and Helen’s Musky Shop. They make our tournament possible each year!

While I might not be a musky fisherman myself, I love this tournament. It is a ton of fun. We have a great group of fishermen that continue to come back year after year, and we have a great weekend. I hope this year you’ll think about joining us! If you’d like registration information. give us a call at the chamber.

Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lara Reed is available at (715) 365-7464.